In All But Blood
by Faisalliot
Summary: In which Farkas adopts two kids, a dog, and gains a new fear of spiders, and it's 100% the Dragonborn's fault. Snapshot of what's to come in The Misadventures of a Pragmatic Dragonborn. Can be read as a stand-alone story.
1. Chapter 1

**In which Farkas adopts two kids and gains a new fear of spiders, and it's 100% the Dragonborn's fault. Snapshot of what's to come in a Misadventures of a Pragmatic Dragonborn. Can be read as a stand-alone.**

* * *

"Salisbury, you better stop bitching about your hoof and let me ride you or I'm not going to give you any apples!"

Flynn's horse, Salisbury, whinnied in protest and stamped her supposedly sore hoof.

"Don't think for a damned minute that I won't give you carrots! I know you hate them, and I will feed them to you for a _week_ if you don't cooperate!"

Farkas watched Flynn argue with her cantankerous horse in muted amusement as Salisbury leaned away from Flynn's hand, looking entirely more sassy than any horse should.

"Fine, then!" Flynn clipped and folded her arms tightly. "I'll take Frost!"

Salisbury looked up at this with an expression that could only be described as the horse equivalent of offense and snorted indignantly into Flynn's face, swatting her tail about and stamping angrily at the ground. Flynn wrinkled her nose, turned her head, wiped the horse slobber off her face, and, in Farkas's opinion, looked like something akin to a mother waiting for her brat of a child to stop being such a little shit. Salisbury stared at Flynn for a good 20 seconds before lowering herself, snorting in a display of "I'm submitting but I'm doing so reluctantly because fuck you".

"Thank you!" Flynn huffed, clambering on Salisbury's back. "Was that really so difficult, old girl?" She turned her head to look at Farkas. "C'mon, Fark. What are you just standing there for?"

"I don't have a horse, Twig."

Flynn narrowed her eyes and her lips curled into a frown. "Only Skjor's allowed to call me Twig." Her expression, to anyone else, could've been perceived as hostile, but Farkas knew she wasn't actually pissed at him. "And I told you that you could ride Frost at the gate!"

"You did?"

"Yeah, jackass!"

"Oh." A flush crept up Farkas's neck, which he rubbed in embarrassment. "So, _that's_ what you were talking about."

Flynn stared at him for a couple of seconds and said, "You weren't listening at all, were you?"

"Uh...no."

Flynn shook her head good-naturedly. "Then I suppose you missed that I have to go to Morthal before I do my _initiation_ task?" Flynn deliberately spat out 'initiation' with a dramatic eye roll to boot.

Farkas decided to ignore the obvious distaste behind the word 'initiation' and instead frowned. "Why do you have to go to Morthal?"

"Thane-ly duties."  
"Oh." Farkas wasn't really sure how to respond to that. He often forgot she was a Thane in the first place, much less the Thane of all the Holds (save for Windhelm). "I guess we should get on our way, then?"

"Yeah, so...wait, uh...Frost! C'mere, buddy!"

Salisbury craned her neck to glower at Flynn. Catching her eye, Flynn avoided Salisbury's mouth and swatted her gently on the head as Frost came trotting over excitedly.

"Hush. I'm not riding him, Farkas is." Flynn chastised her horse.

Salisbury snorted and looked away.

Flynn sagged and dug in her pouch. She pulled out a shiny green apple and waved it in front of Salisbury's sullen face.

"C'mon, you know you want it."

Salisbury leaned forward and, with as much grace as any horse could muster, plucked the apple from Flynn's hand and delicately chewed it. Farkas thought, if anything, that Salisbury looked entirely too pleased with herself. Flynn picked up on it and gently kicked Salisbury's flank.

"Don't think that was a reward, you brat. That was a peace offering." She pursed her lips as she absentmindedly rubbed Frost's head.

She turned her attention back to Farkas. "What're you waiting for? Clamber on and we'll get going."

* * *

Farkas didn't much like Morthal, he decided.

It was much too humid, it smelled gross, the folk weren't that friendly, and more often than not he found himself getting jabbed on the ankle by a particularly stupid mudcrab. ' _They don't even taste that good!'_ Farkas thought darkly, sharply kicking one away from him yet again. ' _If they tasted alright, how annoying they are could be justifiable!'_ Somewhere in the back of his mind, Farkas knew that the majority of his terrible mood was stemming from the terrible feeling that seemed to cling to the town, but mudcrabs were plenty annoying and he needed some material reason to be pissy so...mudcrabs. He couldn't keep the frown off his face as he stomped around in the mud while trying to push the feeling of vague threat out of his mind. Flynn seemed to pick up on Farkas's thinly veiled scowl and frowned at him.

"You alright?"

"I hate this place," Farkas hissed lowly, rubbing his arm and glowering at a patch of mudcrabs.

Flynn followed his glare and huffed a short laugh. "I think you just hate the mudcrabs."

' _Yeah, that's part of it for damn sure!'_ He could feel his wolf pacing agitatedly in his chest. Hell, he could almost see it's maw contorted into a threatened snarl. "Mudcrabs are the only things here!"

"Well, there's a lot of Deathbell around. I need to pick some of that, by the way."

"Deathbell doesn't taste good!" He rather stupidly spat, regretting his words almost immediately. Really? That was the best he could think of?

Flynn looked at him for a long moment before smiling in a way that looked almost despondent, though he couldn't imagine why she'd be sad. "...Okay," She sighed, running a hand along her scalp and jostling her long braid, "tell you what, when I'm done with my Thane-ly duties, we can get a meal in the Inn, and after that we can take the long way to Dustman Cairn."

Food sounded good, but not the longer way to Dustman Cairn. "Why would we take the longer route?"

"Robber's Gorge is on that path. How about we stop there and clear it out to get the edge off, yeah?"

Farkas considered this. "That sounds great, actually."

Flynn bent down and pecked him on the head before ruffling his hair. "Atta boy. Go hang out in the Inn while you wait so the mudcrabs don't pester you anymore."

Farkas wrinkled his nose and swatted at her hand, irritation spiking. "I'm twenty-five, not six! Don't baby me!"

Flynn raised her eyebrows and frowned at Farkas before looking confused and backing away slightly while shaking her head.

"What?" He mumbled gruffly, crossing his arms.

"Nothing-just...you sound a lot like Vilkas. Y'know, with the snappiness and brooding. I get the feeling that mudcrabs aren't the only thing making you antsy."

Farkas sighed, feeling his nails digging into his forearms. "I just...I don't- I'm not brooding for no reason, okay?"

"What is it, then?  
Farkas glanced around anxiously. "Just-don't you feel it too?" He ignored the stares of the townfolk at his outburst, letting his arms fall at his sides.

Farkas saw her eyes flicker in understanding, but she nonetheless asked, "Feel _what?"_

"Like something's off."

Flynn sighed gravely. "I thought I was just crazy. I guess not." Flynn's voice lowered and she said, "I understand how you feel. Something is off with this town, it's always felt like that. Let's get out of here as soon as we can."

"You're not going to do anything?"

"I already have," Flynn muttered ruefully. "It's over, yet that feeling of...foreboding still clings to this town. Nothing's amiss, so don't worry about it."

"What happened?"

"...I'll just say that the marsh is a dangerous, strange place, and leave it at that." Flynn said cryptically before pointing to the Inn. "Go on and hang out inside. I should be finished up in about twenty minutes. Then we can eat and be on our way."

* * *

Twenty minutes came and went, and just as the colors of twilight began to paint the sky, the two Companions set off in the direction of Robber's Gorge.

The stars began to twinkle above them, illuminating the path as Salisbury and Frost cantered along.

"Whoa!" Flynn suddenly cried, pulling on Salisbury's reigns to make her slow down.

"What?" Farkas called to her, bringing Frost to a stop.

Flynn pointed into the darkness and Farkas followed her finger to see...a dog?

"You stopped... for a dog?"

Flynn dismounted from her horse, and to Farkas's surprise she crept gently towards the dog and...began to pet it?

"What're you doing?! He could be feral!" Farkas hissed, jumping off of Frost and stumbling on his way towards her.

"Nah, I've seen this dog before! Whenever I've gone down this path, he's been hanging out here. I never had time to stop for long, but now I do. What is it, boy? What are you doing all the way out here?" Flynn crooned to the dog, scratching it's ears.

The dog, if anything, looked very pleased to be pet. But, as Flynn asked him what he was doing, his ears pricked and he barked.

"What's the matter?" Flynn whispered, stroking his back.

The dog wriggled away from Flynn and dashed towards the forest before turning back and barking again.

"I...think he wants us to follow him...?" Farkas frowned thoughtfully.

The dog huffed at this and began to bound off, looking behind himself expectantly. Without taking her eyes off the dog, Flynn gently tugged on Salisbury's reins and she followed the dog into the forest with Salisbury in tow. Shaking his head, Farkas followed suit. _'Leave it to Flynn to follow some random dog into the woods.'_ He thought, tripping over a tree root. The dirt gave way to what looked like a mainly unused path, and the cloying smell of decay began to permeate in the air.

"D'ya think he's leading us to a dead guy?" Flynn whispered a half-hearted attempt at a joke.

"It sure smells like it!" Farkas hissed.

"Eh, it's probably just a dead bandit nearby. I don't think anyone lives in these parts, save for Morthal."

Unfortunately, the dog did indeed lead them to a dead body, namely the corpse of his owner.

Thankfully, the man was long dead, so his body was mainly decomposed so it didn't smell too terrible. That didn't stop Farkas from retching off to the side. The dog, 'Meeko', as the owner's journal had written in it, nudged at his owner's corpse, whining sadly.

"Oh..." Flynn sounded crestfallen. "He...He wants us to help his owner."

"There's no helping that guy!"

"I know that! It's just-when I was passing by here, maybe I could've helped this guy all that time ago."

Farkas frowned at this, plucking the journal out of Flynn's limp hand. "When was the first time you passed through this area?"

"Near the 6th of Evening Star, 201?"

"This entry is dated the 11th of Sun's Dusk, 201. You weren't even in this area when he passed away, so don't worry. Nothing you could've done."

Flynn sighed, turning to face Farkas with a somewhat watery smile. "Thanks, Fark." She suddenly frowned, looking towards the dog. She crouched down and scratched at his ears, smiling sadly as he leaned to her touch. "What should we do with him? He's all alone. He can take care of himself, I'm sure, but he's really skinny so there probably isn't much to eat around here, and he must be really lonely."

Farkas sucked on his teeth, considering her words. She was right, just like she usually was. And he was a cute dog... Bah. He knew he was probably going to regret this, but... "Let's keep him."

Flynn's head swiveled to look at him. "We can?"

She looked way too excited about this. "Yeah."

"What do you think about that, Meeko? You wanna come home with us?"

Meeko barked at this, wagging his tail.

"Yeah, you do! C'mon, boy."

Flynn began to walk away, but Meeko stayed where he was, whining sadly at his owner's corpse.

Farkas sagged, scratching Meeko on the head. "I know, buddy. He's gone, though. We'll take care of you. Follow us." He called, pushing Flynn out the door.

Thankfully, Meeko followed behind them, and he continued to follow them even as they made their way to Robber's Gorge.

"So, where're we gonna put him?" Flynn asked as Salisbury slowly trotted along so that Meeko could keep up.

"He could stay at your house?"

"He could, but I don't want him hurting himself on all my junk by letting it fall on him or him eating it...and I don't know if Lydia likes dogs or not. Besides, I'm not home a lot. Do you think he could at least hang out at Jorrvaskr during the day?"

Farkas considered this. "That doesn't sound bad. I know Vilkas always wanted a dog when we were little brats. Plus, who doesn't like a cute dog hanging around? I think he'd make Tilma happy."

"Okay, it's agreed. He'll hang out at Jorrvaskr at least during the day. Depending on how everyone responds, maybe he can always stay there."

"Good idea."

* * *

Robber's Gorge was oddly quiet when Farkas and Flynn came upon it. Flynn wrinkled her nose distastefully at the pungent, trademark bandit odor that hung around the half-assed camp. Nodding at Farkas, she dismounted from Salisbury and lead her away from the camp, tying her out of sight. Salisbury thankfully stayed quiet (save for whinnying nervously), seemingly to recognize the impending danger. Farkas followed Flynn's actions, tying Frost nearby, who pawed at the ground blithely, unbothered by the soon-to-follow commotion.

Meeko growled lowly and Farkas stroked his back to make him calm down. "You stay here, buddy." He whispered to Meeko, tying a loose rope around his collar and putting the end of the rope under a rock.

"You stay with the horses and the cute doggie and keep quiet. I'm going to scout the area and see what's ahead."

Farkas wanted to protest, but he knew Flynn was much better at sneaking than he was, so he kept quiet and nodded. Flynn mock-saluted him before disappearing into the darkness. Sometimes Farkas wondered how Flynn was so good at sneaking around (especially clad in Ebony Armor) but he figured that being a Redguard had its advantages in the dark. Huffing a quiet laugh at his own joke, he sat in silence until the sounds of commotion hit his ears. ' _Damn, they must've caught her!'_ Farkas ran towards the camp with his greatsword at ready, slamming open a nearby gate. Upon opening it he immediately came across what looked to be half of the bandit's corpses. He spotted Flynn battling three bandits at once and leapt into the fray, ending one of their miserable lives with one swoop of his blade.

"Behind you!" Flynn yelled, and Farkas whirled just in time to dispatch a bandit who was about to stab him through the back.

Ah, this was the kind of fight he enjoyed.

With an almost concerning amount of glee, he swung his sword towards the bandit's head, who deftly dodged the incoming blow.

"You get that chick, Fark! I've got these idiots. I'll help if you're still fighting her after I've dealt with them!"

Farkas grunted acknowledgement, stepping backwards before the supposedly female bandit attempted to kick his legs from beneath him. The light of aurora, stars, and moons in the sky provided ample light for Farkas to peer at the bandit's armor as he swung his sword, trying to find a weak spot. She was clad in nordic armor, definitely the most protected person in the camp. The leader, if he had to guess.

The light of the moon illuminated the bandit's face as she screamed, "I'll crush you beneath my boot, you worm! When I'm done with you, I'll make you sorry!" Farkas didn't like the gleam in her eye as she hollered at him.

The she-bandit leaned to the left, presumably to stab him in the shoulder. Farkas blocked the incoming blow, but it never came. To his surprise, the she-bandit dropped to her knees and thrust her sword into his abdomen. His armor gave away to the blow and he felt the blade sink into his gut. The wound wasn't deep, but he'd be fucked if it didn't hurt like a bitch! A faux attempt, and he'd fallen for it! He let out a short scream and keeled over, clutching his wound. The she-bandit yanked his hair down, bringing his head with it, and kneed him in the face. Feeling dizziness wash over him, he fell to his knees. The she-bandit sharply kicked him in the head, and he collided with the cold ground with a short "oof". Using the tip of her blood-stained blade, the she-bandit pushed the hair from his face, smiling wickedly at him.

"Now, aren't you a pretty guy? Maybe I'll spare your wretched life and _sell_ you to someone. You'd fetch a pretty price. How does the _sex-trade_ sound, you miserable little-!"

The she-bandit didn't get to finish her sentence, for a beautifully crafted Elven blade pushed it's way through her metal armor, drowning out her words with a horrible grating sound. The She-bandit slowly turned to look behind her, gaping at Farkas's yet-again savior with wide eyes. Blood began to drip from her mouth and her eyes rolled back. She slumped forward and fell lifelessly to the ground, her heart still skewered on Flynn's blade. Flynn seemed to tower over her corpse and her eyes glinted in the light, the silver irises filled with enough animosity to make Farkas shiver. The moon floated like an ominous halo above her head, and just for a moment, Farkas wondered about how scary of a werewolf Flynn would be if she were to be initiated into the circle. She slowly extending her hand to him and he grabbed it. He groaned aloud when his wound throbbed painfully as she yanked him up, and only then did her eyes soften. She crouched down and inspected the wound, prodding at it and rubbing his hip in apology when he winced.

"I can heal this all in one go with no problem. No need for rest. Just a glorified scrape, really." Farkas frowned. "...In a painful place, that is." She finished hastily at his slightly offended look, digging in her bag and thrusting one of her potions to him.

She noticed his concerned frown at her as she handed him her potion, and she shook her head. "Don't worry. I have like, I think it was 29 more of those in here. I'm not going to miss just one potion."

Farkas flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right, I forgot you had your... magic bag...thing."

"It's fine, a lot of people do. You should've seen your brother's face when I pulled out an entire bow for Aela the other day!"

Farkas huffed a laugh at that, knowing exactly what kind of face his twin would've made. "Yeah, I can imagine. Thank you, though." He knocked back the potion, smiling at the taste. "At least your potions actually taste good."

"Perks of being a masterful alchemist, buddy."

"Seriously, though," Farkas sat heavily down on a nearby crudely crafted bench, feeling the potion beginning to heal him almost immediately, "you should really start your own business, sell your own potions."

"I'd do that, but do you really want me to put every other alchemist in Skyrim out of business?"

Farkas could imagine that happening quite easily. "You've got me there, sis. At least start offering your skills as a healer!"

"I do!"

Farkas stopped short there. "Oh, I didn't know that."

"I suppose I should start getting out there, then. I actually used to be a midwife for a brief time while I was exploring Skyrim, did you know that?"

Farkas raised a surprised eyebrow. "I didn't. How many babies did you help give birth to?"

"I think it was seven babies."

"So, you've watched seven moms give birth?"

"In Skyrim, yeah."

"There's been more?"

"Yeah, but not while I was a midwife. I was the healer's assistant when I lived in Hammerfell, so I just kind of helped while the healer did what he did best. He's actually the reason I have an affinity for alchemy. I was already a good alchemist when I came here, but I became a master once I started exploring here."

Holy shit, the ever-enigmatic Flynn was telling him about her past. It wasn't a lot, but it was something!

Cautiously, Farkas asked, "What's the healer's name?"

Flynn smiled sadly. "His name _was_ Cyrus. Really, he was a wonderful man. He was kind of like a father to me, in a way. Kodlak reminds me of him. When I was 15, he died because my parents-" Flynn stopped short there, her eyes going a little wide.

"Your parents? What do your parents have to do with this?" Farkas asked hurriedly, recognizing her starting to close off again.

"Nothing," She said crisply, pressing her lips in a line.

"Flynn-"

"-Farkas. I said they have nothing to do with this."

"But I-"

"But nothing! Drop it!"

Farkas went to speak again, but she held her hand up sharply. "I said, _drop it._ " She spat coldly, effectively silencing him with a dangerous glare.

Ah, and the Broken Bird had returned, or the Ice Queen as Vilkas took great glee in dubbing her when she shut down like this.

Farkas heaved a sigh, looking away. "Fine. Let's just go."

He began to trod away, ignoring the smarting pain coming from his injury, but Flynn did not move. He turned back to look at her.

"I've been here before," She said simply, turning to face him, "This camp has a little cove beneath it."

"Yeah, and?"

Flynn turned to the corpse of the she-bandit, frowning. "Something she said rubbed me wrong. I think we should check down there, just in case there's any hostages."

Farkas heaved a sigh. "It's late, and we need to finish your initiation task soon."

"Would you rather possibly leave hostages behind here? Some that could be injured, cold, _hungry, thirsty, alone,_ in that stupid, _dark,_ empty cave?! Would you prefer coming back one day to find their emaciated corpses!?" She snarled.

He wasn't sure if it was the look in her eyes, but Farkas sucked in a breath harshly, feeling slightly ashamed at her words. She was right (as per the usual).

"Okay, let's go look."

Wordlessly, Flynn strode into the makeshift house, cocking her head towards the chest in the back left corner. Opening the chest, Farkas was pleased to find a multitude of goodies.

"Bring your bag over here." Farkas called over to Flynn, who dumped the contents of the chest into her bag before walking towards the top left corner of the small house. She crouched down and began to pull a rug away from the corner of the room.

"What're you doing that for?" He asked curiously, peering in the darkness at the ground.

Casting the threadbare rug to the side, Flynn gestured to the previously hidden trapdoor. Farkas let out a low whistle.

"Good eye."

Flynn rolled her eyes in response. "Didn't I say I've been here before?"

Farkas flushed. Whoops. "Yeah, you did."

Flynn pursed her lips, and with some difficulty, she pried open the trapdoor. She descended the ladder first, landing with a soft thump against the dampened dirt.

"Anyone down there?" Farkas called softly, in case there were either bandits or traumatized hostages in the cave.

Flynn didn't respond. He could see her, but she was oddly still.

"Flynn?"

She stared fixedly ahead, before saying, "Farkas…?" In a quiet, fearful tone.

His heart sank.

Her head snapped upwards and she yelled, "Get down here _now!_ Help me!"

"Wha-?!"

She sharply yanked him down and pointed at a bony mass that was slumped against the cave wall with a trembling finger. The figure was stark naked, soaked in blood, and it was covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts. No...not an 'it'.

It was a boy.

A stark naked, shivering, injured, blood-soaked _boy._

 _And he was still breathing._


	2. Chapter 2

Flynn leapt into action first, dashing towards the boy. Farkas could only stand there with his mouth agape and eyes fixated on the somehow still breathing boy. His brain was screaming at his limbs to move, to do something, but they didn't move in the slightest. He stood rooted to the spot, and Flynn's cry of "Snap out of it and _help!"_ was barely enough to break him out of his stupor. He swept to her side, desperately trying to apply pressure to one of the boy's-the _kid's_ biggest injuries to staunch the languid flow of blood trickling out of it. To his horror, a handful of maggots squeezed out past his hands.

"Akatosh's hairy fucking cock!" Flynn cursed loudly, scrambling for her bag.

She hurriedly yanked out a black bottle and looked between it and the unconscious kid. "What is that?!" Farkas tried and failed not to gag at the maggots writhing inside the kid, staring at them in horror.

Flynn looked helplessly at the boy and whispered, "Oh, honey, you're really not gonna like this." She stroked the kid's cheek softly before uncorking the bottle and gently prying open his lips.

Slowly, she tipped the contents of the bottle into his mouth and massaged his throat, encouraging him to swallow. Almost immediately, Farkas heard a soft sizzling sound and went to look for the source before the kid's eyes flew open and he let out a horrible wail, writhing in pain against the dirt. One by one, the maggots began to squeeze out of the boy and fall onto the dirt, all dead. His heart leapt to his throat and he whirled to grab Flynn's shoulders as the boy screamed.

"What did you do?!"

"It's a potion that'll get rid of the bugs! It's not exactly a gentle process! Help him, dammit!"

"How in the name of fucking _Oblivion_ am I supposed to do that!?"

"Help me try to soothe him! Hold him, stroke his hair, his back, _anything!"_

Farkas looked between the screaming kid and Flynn helplessly.

"Dammit, Farkas, get a grip!"

"I-I-!" He stammered, scrambling to his feet.

Flynn cradled the kid in her arms, bouncing him up and down like a baby as he writhed around. She looked up and nearly screamed, "Don't you fucking dare leave!"

"I-I'm not! I just-!"

Flynn bit her lip, slamming her fist on the ground. "If you're not going to help me comfort him, find me a bucket, clean water, and a clean rag! There's water over there and I know it's clean enough! I saw a bucket, wash it out and fill it up! If you can't find a rag, you can find one in my bag! Once you have those, bring them to me!"

"I-fuck-Okay!"

Farkas dashed around the barren dirt floor, collapsing on his knees near the water. He yanked a bucket towards him and washed it out. Looking around, he saw no rag. He brought the water to Flynn before rifling in her bag, trying to ignore the kid's screams.

"How do I find the rag!?"

"It's a magic bag jackass! Just think of a clean rag and one should fly into your hands. While you're in there, bring out one of my potions, a needle, sterile thread, a blanket, a water bottle, sterile alcohol, and bandages! I also need a small gray bottle, it's labelled Canis root, Blue Butterfly Wing, and Impstool! Hurry!"

One by one, Farkas pulled her items out of the bags, nearly throwing them at her in his haste to give her them.

"Lay the blanket down on the ground! I'm not going to stitch him up on the damned dirt!" Farkas obliged quickly.

The kid's screams began to die down and he instead began to make choked noises, soundlessly gasping for air and getting none.

"Why is he choking!?"

Flynn's eyes blew open wide and if she was fair-skinned, Farkas was sure she would've gone pale. With astonishing speed, she tilted the boy over and slapped his back roughly. Immediately, vomit flew out of his mouth, landing on the dirt with a sickening splat. He coughed, nearly falling forward into his own sick. Flynn caught him and rubbed his back, murmuring comforting words into his ears as he coughed violently. Farkas could hear the mucus rattling in his throat and chest and watched as the boy began to cry, feeling utterly useless. The boy seemed to be distressed at Flynn's touch and tried to wriggle away from her.

"...N-No! Go _away!"_ The boy rasped, pushing weakly at Flynn's leg.

"Shh, shh it's okay, it's alright, you're alright. I'm going to help you." Flynn whispered to him, rubbing his back as gently as she could.

The boy shied away from her touch, tears trickling down his bruised cheeks. "I d-don't want to touch-ch you right now!" He hiccuped, trying to roll away from her.

 _'I don't want to touch you right now?'_ Farkas's heart sank. He didn't want to think about the implications of that.

"It's alright, I'm not a bandit." Flynn spoke calmly, and with a start Farkas realized that the kid thought Flynn was trying to hurt him more.

"Don't lie to me! I know why you're down here!" The boy gasped out through terrible coughs. "Please, I can't make you feel good! I can barely move, it all hurts. Please don't hurt me!"

"Honey, you don't have to do anything. I'm not going to hurt you, just relax."

The kid blearily stared at her for a long, tense moment before he fell limp on the ground and, to Farkas's utter horror, opened his legs. The boy closed his eyes, tears still trickling out of them, and bared his throat to her. He trembled, waiting for something to happen, and looked startled when Flynn slowly closed his legs. His whole body heaved with the strain of breathing and staying conscious as he gaped at her in shock. Looking at Flynn's face, Farkas noticed tears dribbling down her cheeks. _Holy shit, she was crying_. Slowly, Flynn unclasped her cloak, _'Oh my god, she's taking off her cloak. I have never seen her take off her cloak',_ and draped it over the boy's legs. The boy stared at her, looking between the cloak and her before he whispered,

"You're..." He swallowed thickly, panting heavily, "...really here to help me?"

Flynn nodded wordlessly, gently resting her hand on one of his knees.

The boy stared at her for just one more moment before his eyes rolled back and fell closed, his body falling lax on the dirt. Flynn sucked in a breath harshly and scooped him into her arms, laying him on the blanket Farkas had spread on the ground. Hastily, she scrambled for the potion Farkas pulled out of her bag and tilted a mouthful of it into the boy's mouth, coaxing him to swallow. Farkas watched in bewilderment as she corked the bottle.

"What are you doing!? Give him the whole thing!"

"I could do that, but if I do, he'll feel phantom pain of all of this," She swept a hand over the injuries that covered the boy, "for the rest of his life! Healing is a process, a-and even if I heal him all at once his body would go into shock!"

"Oh, I-uh..."

"You didn't know. I know. Just-hand me what I need when I tell you! Give me the gray bottle!"

"Is this potion going to make him scream!?"

"No! It'll prevent him from screaming, it's a sedative! It numbs everything, makes him sleep, and stops him from moving!"

"Why didn't you use it before giving him the screaming potion!?"

Flynn stopped short there before slamming her fist on the ground. "Shut up! I was panicking!"

"You're still panicking!"

"I'M PANICKING LESS NOW, AND LESS THAN YOU! _GIVE ME THE FUCKING BOTTLE!"_

Farkas all but threw the bottle at Flynn, who hurriedly tipped the bottle down the kid's throat. Once he was still, Farkas handed her the bucket and rag, which she immediately wettened. She wiped the blood and dirt off the kid as best as she could before dousing the rag with the alcohol, cleaning out the gouges on the kid. His lip twitched in his sleep and Flynn rubbed his leg in apology. After she dried him off, Farkas handed her the thread and needle and watched in muted disgust as she expertly stitched the injuries shut with the precision of a professional healer. Once finished, she wrapped most of him up with the bandages, frowning as she brushed the hair from his bruised face. Slowly, she lifted up his lip and sighed.

"Farkas, I need one more thing from my bag. It's a small, blue jar. It has a white paste inside. Second thought, I need two things. The other is a salve in a green jar. Bring them out."

"Okay," He held his hand in her bag, thinking very hard about what he wanted. "What do you need them for?"

"The salve just helps bruises heal faster. The white paste is for his teeth. Most of them are gone or broken." At his questioning look, she explained, "It's an orcish creation. Since their tusks jut out so much and they're so fight-y, it's not uncommon for them to break their tusks. This paste is designed to grow teeth back in a day. If he survives, I think he could probably use some chompers."

Farkas's chest felt cold. _"If?"_

Flynn sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. "I can't heal him anymore than this without putting his body into shock. At the rate I'll have to heal him at, the next three or four days are going to be real rocky, and he's gonna have to fucking fight if he wants to live through this, assuming he lasts through the night at all. I'm amazed he's still alive in the first place."

Farkas's heart sank to his knees, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. "There's nothing more we can do?"

"The only thing I know of that's powerful enough to heal him without any negative is either spriggan magic or blood magic. I don't know either of those. All we can do is wait, and give him the paste and salve. Give them here."

Wordlessly, Farkas handed them to her and watched silently as she applied them. Sighing, she leaned forward, suddenly looking very tired. He sidled up next to her, leaning his head against her shoulder. She wrapped her arm around him and squeezed his arms comfortingly, looking entirely older than she should in that moment. Farkas smiled sadly and lifted his head before he gently head-butted her shoulder.

"You're younger than me. You're twenty-five, not fifty. Stop looking like a sad, old lady."

"Ah, yeah. I'm younger than you, yet I'm taller. Wonder how that works?" She said dryly, leaning backwards tiredly.

"It's not my fault you're freakishly tall!" He jokingly socked her on the side of her stomach.

She sighed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "I suppose I am a freak," before scrubbing a hand up and down her face. Farkas frowned, reaching up and squeezing her shoulder.

"Don't say that about yourself."

"I didn't say anything."

"Mhm," Farkas agreed, figuring it was easier to not argue.

Flynn grumbled low in her throat before standing up. "I dunno about you, but I don't think we should let half-pint here die in a musty old cave."

"Rorikstead is about twenty minutes away by horse. Should we take him there?"

"Good idea, Farkle. Go get the horses and the cute dog, and I'll get him up the ladder."

Oh. He'd almost forgotten about Meeko. "Farkle?"

"New nickname. I think it suits you."

Farkas huffed a laugh. "Alright. I'll have to take a leaf out of Skjor's book and call you Twig, then."

Flynn wrinkled her nose. "That nickname is exclusive to Skjor, and Skjor only. Let me know when you think of something for yourself."

"I don't have a brain to do that with."

Flynn barked a humorless laugh, smiling ruefully. "You're not stupid, get that junk out of your head. Like I said, get the horses and Meeko, and I'll get the kid."

"You sure you can get up by yourself?"

"Dude, I'm almost as tall as the ladder itself. I'll be fine."

"...Fair point."

Farkas climbed up the ladder quickly, feeling the fresh night air hit him instantly. Once above ground, he strode out of the house and slumped against the crudely-made table, sighing heavily. Holy shit, what a night. He trudged towards the waiting horses and Meeko, glad to find them undisturbed. Meeko yipped happily upon seeing him, his butt waving along with his tail in his happiness. Farkas crouched down and rubbed the dog's ears, chuckling.

"Bet you thought we left you, huh? We're not going anywhere. C'mon, boy. Follow me and the horses." Farkas told Meeko as he lifted the rock Meeko's rope was held under, wrapping the rope into a tight circle before shoving it into his bag. He untied the horses and lead them to the house with Meeko at his heels, sparing Meeko a quiet chuckle when Meeko growled at the bandits' corpses. He found Flynn waiting outside with the boy held securely in her arms, wrapped tightly in her cloak. It was strange to see her without her cloak. He'd honestly never seen her take it off before, and looking at her now felt like he was looking at someone who was completely defenseless. He chose not to comment on this, instead bringing the horses to her.

"How's he doing?"

"He's starting to get a fever. A couple of his wounds are infected, so that's the source."

Farkas nodded tersely, sucking in a tired breath. "Should I ride ahead to Rorikstead with the dog to let the innkeeper know you're coming with an injured kid? So we can have a room already prepared?"

"Good idea. I know him pretty well, actually. His son, Erik? I aided him in becoming an adventurer. His name is Mralki." Flynn dug in her bag. "Give him..." She pulled out a nightshade flower. "...this. He'll know you're my friend."

"Nightshade?"

"He'll understand." Flynn tucked the flower into Farkas's hair. "God speed, Farkle. Get outta here. And make sure you ask Mralki if he still has Erik's old clothes. I couldn't find anything that looked like this kid's clothes."

Farkas nodded and picked up Meeko, lifting him onto Frost before clambering on too. Meeko looked, if anything, very confused to be on top of the horse but stayed where he was, much to Farkas's relief. Farkas saluted Flynn before urging Frost on to the road below, and cantered towards Rorikstead. The night was well underway when he finally arrived at Frostfruit in, startling the half-asleep inn-keeper and rousing a sleeping adventurer from his rest. At the slightly horrified looks he was given by both people, Farkas realized with a start just how much of a sight he must've looked, given that he was covered in dirt, blood, and had a very dirty dog at his heels.

Flushing slightly, Farkas cleared his throat. "Sorry about the, uh, dog. Me 'nd Flynn found him all alone so he's tagging along."

The adventurer perked up excitedly in his chair. "Flynn's here!?" He gasped, jumping to his feet.

Farkas did a double take at the adventurer. He looked like he was barely into his adult years, looking much too like a child.

"Erik, calm down." The innkeeper, Mralki, if he remembered correctly, chastised his supposed son. "You know Flynnigan, then?"

Oh, yeah. The nightshade. Touching the side of his head, Farkas was glad to feel that it hadn't fallen out of his hair. Pulling it out from behind his ear, he presented it to Mralki, who looked at it for a moment before a flicker of recognition crossed his face.

"She said to give this to you, saying that you'd know what it meant." Farkas said sheepishly.

Mralki huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "You really do know her. Where is she?"

"That's the reason I'm here. We need a room prepared as soon as possible. We cleared out Robber's Gorge a bit ago." Farkas eyed the adventurer, biting his lip. He didn't want to go into graphic detail in front of someone so young. "We found some kid being held hostage there... and he's in bad condition. We're not sure if he'll even make it through the night, but either way, we want him to at least be comfortable. I rode ahead to let you know."

Mralki looked a little startled at the lack of detail before he looked between Farkas and the adventurer and his face softened in realization. "I'll prepare a room right away. Erik, honey, wait outside for Flynn and help her with the kid when she arrives. In the meantime, try to clean that dog. He's a mess."

"Okay, dad. C'mere boy!" Erik called to Meeko, patting his thighs.

Meeko looked towards Farkas questioningly. "Go on, buddy, it's okay." Farkas turned to Erik. "His name's Meeko, if that helps."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Erik went dashing outside with Meeko at his heels, grabbing a bucket on his way out the door.

Once out the door, Mralki turned to Farkas once more. "Alright, my son's out of the way. Tell me the full story, I'd like some details so I know what to expect."

Farkas nodded, shuddering as he did so. "We were initially in Morthal. She was finishing off some Thane-ly duties, and I had to come along with her. That town's creepy and I got a little spooked, so she offered to let us stop in Robber's Gorge to clear it out and get the edge off. I agreed, and after we ate at the Inn we set off. On the way there, we came across Meeko. He lead us to his dead owner, so that's why the dog is with us. Eventually, we got to the Gorge and she went ahead to scout it out. Apparently, she got caught, because I heard commotion. I ran into action and took on the leader of the camp while she picked off the smaller guys. This bandit leader was actually strong and managed to get the drop on me. She was ranting about how she'd sell me into the sex trade since I was pretty, and she was cut off by Flynn skewering her heart on her sword. The sex trade line bothered her, so she demanded that we go and check in the little cave beneath the camp for any hostages. I thought she was crazy but I agreed anyway, and I'm glad I did." Farkas rubbed his arms, shaking off the sudden urge to tremble. "Gods, he was a mess. I thought for sure he was a corpse. He was covered in bruises, cuts, dirt, and his own blood. Flynn noticed he was breathing and leapt into action. I tried to help, but when I-" Farkas gagged, feeling like the air had been knocked out of his chest. "I put pressure on one of his injuries and a handful of maggots squeezed out passed my fingers." He breathed in horror.

Mralki looked very shaken at this. "Is he still full of bugs? Should I fetch some surgical tools?"

"No, no...they're gone now but...Gods..." Farkas struggled to speak now that the shock had worn off. "She gave him a potion, a fast-acting one, that forcefully pushed all the bugs out. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least. The kid screamed and screamed for a couple of minutes before it finally died down. He almost choked on his own vomit and cried. I got out a bunch of Flynn's medical stuff for her, and while she was trying to help him, he tried to struggle away from her, saying that he didn't want to touch her and begged her not to hurt him anymore."

"He didn't want to touch her?"

"He thought she was one of the bandits. When she tried to coax him into letting her help and told him to relax, he..." Farkas choked on his own words, hearing his voice catch a little. "He-He opened his legs. He laid back, closed his eyes, bared his throat, and _opened his fucking legs._ "

Mralki's face went snow white. "You don't mean they were _raping_ him?"

Farkas nodded stiffly. "That's what I'm guessing happened to him. He was naked when we found him, and Flynn said she couldn't find anything that looked like his clothes."

Mralki's jaw clenched and he looked down at the bar, shaking his head. "Gods..." He breathed shakily, covering his face.

Farkas slumped on the bar. "I didn't even realize how fucked up this all is until now. I was too caught up in the "holy fuck" of the situation."

Mralki sighed shakily. "I'm glad I haven't gotten around to selling any of Erik's old clothes. He's...going to be very skinny, isn't he?"

Farkas nodded sadly. "I didn't think much of it before because, again, too caught up in the shock, but I could see every rib on that kid's body starting to jut out. He's not entirely starved, but he was well on his way to getting there."

"Gods, I can't even believe..."

"Flynn closed his legs for him. After he realized we were there to help, he let himself pass out. She gave him a healing potion and a sedative, and she cleaned him as best as she could and stitched him up. She's on her way, going slower so she doesn't jostle him. We're not sure he's going to make it through the night. Even if he does, the next three or four nights are going to be shaky, she says. He'll need to fight like all of Oblivion if he wants to live through this."

"Flynn's a masterful healer! Why can't she do anything more?"

"I wondered the same thing." Farkas smiled ruefully. "She explained that if she heals him more, his body will go into shock, and even then, if she heals him all in one go, he'll feel phantom pain from all of it for the rest of his life, meaning he'll almost constantly be in pain."

Mralki looked rather pale at this. "Truly?"

"She's been studying this for awhile, apparently. The only thing that's powerful enough to heal him without hurting him more is blood magic or spriggan magic, neither of which she knows."

"Well, I can't imagine a human knowing any spriggan magic." Mralki smiled wryly. "Anything else?"

"She stitched him up, gave him a salve for his bruises and a paste for his teeth, and she's wrapped him up in her cloak. Apparently, he's starting to get a fever."

Mralki nodded, but suddenly frowned. "She took off her cloak?"

Farkas huffed a short laugh. "I thought the same thing when she did. I've never seen her without it."

"Me neither!" Mralki half-heartedly chuckled as he walked out from behind the bar.

"...I've never seen her cry, either."

Mralki nearly tripped. "Holy shit."

Farkas heaved a sigh. "Should I help you prepare a room?"

Mralki shook his head, blinking. "I've got it. Go sit down by the fire; you've had an insane night."

Farkas nodded tiredly. "That I have."

Ten minutes later, the room was prepared, and five minutes after that, Flynn came bursting through the door, a very clean Meeko at her heels and a very injured boy cradled in her arms. She looked between Farkas and Mralki, before saying,

"Is the room ready?"

"It is. Right this way," Mralki hurriedly led Flynn down the hallway, opening the door. "I've set aside some clothes that I think will fit him, a basin of water, and some broth if he can eat. There's a fire already roaring in the fireplace and I've put down the cleanest and most comfortable linens and furs that I could find."

Flynn bent down and kissed Mralki's balding head. "You're a saint, Mralki. I'll pay you in a little bit. I'll tend to the kid first. Farkle filled you in?"

"Yes. I don't know why you're calling me a saint, Flynnigan. You're the real one." Mralki shook his head. "You let me know if you need anything else immediately."

Flynn hummed a little before she asked, "Is Joaune going to Whiterun anytime soon?"

"He's leaving in the morning."

"Good. Fetch me some paper, a quill, and ink. He's still got that alchemy lab in his house?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. I'll need to write him a list of alchemy ingredients I might need if this kid lives."

Mralki nodded and hurried down the hallway, squeezing past Farkas and Meeko.

Farkas dragged his feet into the room and fell heavily onto a nearby chair. "You took awhile." He commented as he scrubbed his face tired, smearing his warpaint even more than it had already been before.

Flynn silently passed him the basin of water and a rag to clean his face with. "Yeah. I went slow so I wouldn't reopen any of his injuries, and I may or may not have burnt the camp to the ground."

Farkas inhaled sharply through the wet rag, sending water careening down the wrong pipe. He sputtered, "You did _what?!"_

"I don't want that place to be used by bandits ever again. We don't need another one of these situations." Flynn swept a hand towards the kid.

Farkas huffed a humorless laugh. "I guess you're right. Good call."

"I also took a pit stop to collect some mountain flowers and mora tapinella."

"You and your plants." Hey, wait, this gave him an idea… "I think I just thought of a nickname for you."

"How bad is it?"

"It's worse than Skjor's name for you."

"Oh boy. Lay it on me."

"...Leaf."

Flynn laughed so loudly and suddenly that the kid began to shift.


	3. Chapter 3

The kid let out a low moan. Flynn stopped laughing immediately and stared at him intently as he squirmed in the bed. His dark eyebrows scrunched up in what looked like a mixture of pain and confusion, and he slowly pulled himself up into a half-sitting position. His left eye opened before the right one, making Farkas huff a quiet laugh at the silly expression. To his surprise, the kid heard him and jumped violently. He hurriedly turned his head, looking markedly coherent for someone who'd been locked in a cave for days on end (which, admittedly, wasn't _that_ coherent), and groaned aloud as the pain seemed to hit him. Flynn took a gentle step towards him and his head jerked up despite his obvious pain and he stared at her with hazy eyes. After a moment he seemed to process the fact that there were two adult he didn't know hanging out in his room and his bare shoulders hiked up, his eyes going wide. Farkas thought, with a touch of sympathy, that he looked like a frightened puppy.

"Hey, honey." Flynn took another tentative step towards the bed as she spoke softly.

If Farkas didn't know better, he'd think that Flynn sounded as gentle as Mara herself. Apparently, the kid didn't agree with him. His eyes flitted between Farkas and Flynn and with a start, Farkas remembered he was frowning and quickly softened his face, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. This appeared to be somewhat effective, but not really, judging by the skittish and furtive looks he was still receiving every few seconds.

After a long, tense minute of silence, Flynn spoke again. "Can you hear okay? See everything alright?"

The kid swallowed thickly and, after a moment, nodded. His eyes flew back to Farkas and he quickly averted them once he realized Farkas was looking back. Flynn gazed serenely at the boy, her face mainly impassive but her eyes as warm as a merrily crackling fire. She looked utterly docile, but Farkas was certain that underneath her calm persona, she was completely at a loss. He was too. What were they supposed to do in this sort of situation? Something like this had never happened to him. Sighing quietly, Flynn broke the silent stalemate and crept just a little closer to the bed.

She eased herself down into a chair beside the kid. "Do you know where you are?"

He shook his head.

"Do you remember how you got here?"

The kid went to shake his head but suddenly looked confused, as if he were trying to recall something but couldn't. Flynn frowned as he began to cough wetly.

"Looks like you remember something. You can tell me later, if you'd like. Do you have a name?"

The kid looked at her with an expression that made it clear he was thinking something along the lines of, 'What the fuck kind of question is that? Who doesn't have a name?', but didn't answer, save for a quick nod of his head. He was starting to look a little woozy, and Farkas snorted when he realized the kid was probably woozy because all the shaking and nodding he was doing with his head was probably a little disorienting at best.

Flynn gazed at the kid with an odd look on her face before she asked with a touch of mild amusement, "Are you going to talk? I think all the nodding you're doing is making you feel dizzy, huh?" Looked like Flynn was thinking the same thing as him.

The kid shyly smiled before it dropped as quickly as it had come, shaking his head. He turned to look at Farkas again, still looking apprehensive at best. Flynn followed his gaze and chuckled lowly.

"You don't need to worry about him, sweetpea. That's Farkas. He helped me take care of you," Flynn's eyes flickered nervously over to him as she continued, "He's…my best friend, and I can sincerely promise that he's not going to hurt you. I know he looks scary, but he's very nice."

The kid didn't look entirely convinced but nodded anyway. He relaxed against his pillows and looked around the room blearily. He reached up to rub his eyes.

"Well," Flynn clapped her hands, frowning when the kid flinched, "I think it's high time we get you dressed."

The kid looked briefly confused at the notion of wearing clothes before it seemed to hit him he was naked. He suddenly looked very embarrassed and hid his face with his battered hands.

"Did I embarrass you? Sorry." Flynn apologized sincerely, placing a gentle hand on the kid's head. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to help you get dressed; I don't imagine that you'll be able to do it on your own. Don't worry though; I won't touch you where you don't want to be touched, and I'll be honest, I've seen a lot of people naked. This isn't new to me."

"Who have you seen naked?" Farkas wondered aloud, mentally kicking himself immediately afterwards. Who the fuck asked questions like that? Him, apparently.

"For starters, you and your brother. Remember?"

Oh, yeah. He remembered that. He was forced out of his werewolf form and she'd had to help him. How had he forgotten? And then, he frowned. When had she seen Vilkas naked?

"I remember when you saw me naked, but when did you see Vilkas?"

Flynn's eyes went a little wide and a very sad expression flitted across her face. "Remember how I found him being held captive in Fellglow Keep awhile back?"

"I—oh."

"Yeah." Flynn nodded, sighing heavily before returning her attention back to the kid. "The point is, I'm familiar with naked people—oh, that sounded super weird, sorry—so you don't have to worry. Do you want me to make Farkas leave the room?"

The kid sheepishly nodded. Farkas nodded at Flynn and left the room, listening until he was called back inside. He nodded to Mralki as he waited, who took his nod as an invitation to come over.

"How is he?" Mralki asked lowly so he wouldn't alert Flynn or the kid of his presence. "I haven't gone back in yet because I heard Flynn talking to him."

"Good call," Farkas agreed quietly, "he seems a little skittish. He's more aware than I thought he would be. Maybe he might last the night, but you never know." Farkas shrugged.

Mralki smiled sadly, placing a hand on Farkas's shoulders. "I sure hope he does. Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Mralki grabbed a quill, ink, and paper from the end table in the hallway. "I left these out here. When you're allowed back in, could you give these to Flynn?"

"Will do."

"Thank you. Is the boy dressed?"

"She's helping him now; that's why I'm out here. Why?"

"Just wondering. Need anything else?"

"Not that I know of. I think we'll be alright for the night. Is Meeko behaving out here?"

Mralki chuckled lowly. "He's been hanging out by the fire pit. I gave him some meat and water; I hope that's alright?"

"It is. Thank you for all of your help."

"It's not a problem."

"Farkas!" A voice called softly from in the room. "You can come in."

Mralki pressed the quill, ink, and roll of paper into Farkas's hands. "I think that's your cue."

"Aye, I suppose it is. Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight to you too. And please, call me Mralki. Any friend of Flynn's is a friend of mine."

"Will do."

Upon re-entering, Farkas smiled softly at the clothed and blanket-covered boy. The kid blinked sleepily at Farkas, seeming a little bit more at ease than he had been before. He handed the paper and quill to Flynn, who looked between him and the paper inquisitively for a moment before she remembered what she'd needed them for and made an "o" with her mouth. Slowly, he eased himself into a seat and sighed, scratching his forehead. Flynn peered at him before laughing quietly.

"What?"

"You look strange without your war paint."

Well, he couldn't exactly argue with that, since he himself had gotten used to wearing it all the time. "...Shut up."

To his surprise, the kid let out the tiniest of amused huffs before coughing rather roughly. Farkas turned to him and grinned, and rather tactlessly joked;

"Hey, look, he can make noise!"

Flynn shot him a rather reproachful look, but the kid, thankfully, didn't seem to mind. He smiled sheepishly and curled into the bed, yawning quietly.

"He seems calmer," Farkas commented quietly.

"While I helped him dress, I explained what happened, where he is, and who we are. He understands we're not going to hurt him," Flynn's voice dropped so the kid wouldn't hear, "but he's still skittish. Be very gentle and ask him permission for the smallest of things."

"Why?"

Flynn's eyes flitted to the half-interested, half-asleep kid and said, "Y'know, with everything that's happened, he's experienced a total loss of control of himself and his environment. He's not used to having a say. Basically, he's traumatized. Asking permission for everything might help him cope with what's happened and help him regain a sense of control."

Farkas nodded slightly, figuring Flynn knew what she was talking about. He was good with the emotions of people, but trauma wasn't his forte. Thankfully, it seemed it was Flynn's. He wondered why.

"So," Farkas sucked in a long breath, "do we have a name for our little buddy here?"

"I had him trace his name on the bed while you were in the hallway. He can't talk at the moment because his throat is so dry and swollen. Once he starts feeling better and drinks some water, his voice will be alright," Flynn explained. "His name is Frey."

Farkas hummed in understanding. "That's a cute name. How old are you, Frey?"

Frey slowly (and rather weakly, Farkas thought with a frown) held up one finger, and then three. He let his hand fall back on the bed.

"You're…four?"

"Farkas, he's thirteen."

"Why didn't he just hold up thirteen fingers?"

Flynn and Frey both looked at him for a very long moment, and he wondered what they were staring at him for before it hit him.

"Oh, shit. People don't have thirteen fingers. My bad."

Flynn valiantly tried and failed to hold back laughter and leaned forward, trying desperately to conceal the fact that she was laughing. She chanced a look at Farkas's embarrassed face and completely lost it, nearly falling out of her chair. It took her a solid minute to pull herself together and she clapped a hand on Farkas's shoulder.

"Farkas, I love you. Never change, please." She shook her head with a big grin on her face.

"Shut your mouth." Farkas shook his head exasperatedly, laughing despite himself. "Gods, thirteen fingers? What was I thinking?"

"I dunno. Maybe you should go lie down, it's late. You look tired anyway."

Farkas eyed the bed on the opposite side of the room. It sure did look inviting, but Flynn had said that Frey might not make it through the night. Sure, he seemed alright now, but you never knew. He didn't want to wake up and find out that Frey had passed away.

"But I don't want to take it from you, and shouldn't I help with Frey?"

"Farkas, do I even sleep anymore? Remember the uh…the _thing?_ " She stressed the ending with meaning.

Right. He'd forgotten about that. Since she was Dragonborn, she took on the characteristics of dragons; one of which was that she had no fundamental need to sleep, and simply did so out of boredom on occasion. He'd never get used to that.

"Besides," Flynn continued, "if I want to lie down, I'll just lay with you. I don't really care."

Farkas supposed that was fair. "Alright," He agreed hesitantly. "if you need anything, wake me up."

"I won't!" Flynn said in a tone that made it seem like she was agreeing.

Farkas leveled an unimpressed look at her, trying to imitate Skjor's face.

Flynn pursed her lips and sighed. "Okay, I will. Now, stop giving me that look and go to bed."

"Yeah, you got it, mama."

"Don't sass me, young man. Off to bed with you!"

"I'm older than you, don't call me a young man!"

"Yeah, older by two years! And I'll call you young man whenever I damn well please since you're calling me 'mama'." Flynn's mirthful smile and shaking shoulders betrayed her harsh words.

"Alright, alright, goodnight."

Farkas chuckled softly and crawled into bed, sighing as his head hit the soft pillow. He was just dozing off when he felt a pair of warm hands touch his back. One of them pulled the blanket tighter around him and the other found its way into his hair. He blearily popped open an eye and smiled lazily at Flynn, who hadn't noticed he was still awake. He relaxed into her touch, letting her soothing hands guide him into sleep. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered a soft, motherly kiss being planted on his forehead, but in retrospect, he was sure he had just been imagining it.

* * *

Flynn huffed quietly as Farkas fell asleep, ruffling his hair gently before standing up from her perch at his bedside. She crept towards Frey's bed instead, her footsteps silenced. She hadn't bothered to hide her steps towards him after he'd woken up, figuring it'd be better for him to know she was approaching, but now she took extra care into silencing herself. _'Good thing I have years of experience regarding sneaking,'_ Flynn thought bitterly before tossing the thought away. The whole thing with Cyrus and her parents had thrown her off kilter the entire night. What had she been thinking, telling Farkas anything about that? Now he'd ask probing questions, she'd snap and tell him every _stupid little detail_ , and he'd realize how much of a _freak_ she really was and _then-!_

' _Stop it! Shut up! You're not a freak, get your head out of your ass!'_ Flynn pinched herself on the thigh, wincing at the pain but glad it was there. Pain was real. It was grounding. That raised welt on her leg was proof she was there. _'Get a damned grip, woman!'_. Gods, did Farkas really have to get all pushy with his questions? She knew he was curious for good reason, but dammit…she was acting crazy. Farkas wasn't at fault here; her own mind was just being stupid again.

Flynn sighed heavily, suddenly feeling very drained. But not tired. She'd never get used to this whole Dragonborn thing. She never thought she'd know what it was like to be tired but also not tired, but here she was. And this whole "I don't need to eat or drink" thing was really freaking her out. She was so used to feeling hungry and thirsty that to _not_ ever feel like that was unnerving. And if she could stop feeling compelled to climb very high things (and jump off them! Wait, that might just be her suicidal tendencies speaking there…), that'd be great. There'd been quite the number of times that she'd scared the living daylights out of Skjor and Eorlund by climbing up the stone wall that framed the Skyforge or scaling the side of Jorrvaskr and chilling out at the top of it.

' _Y'know, for someone who acts markedly composed, my head's a fucking mess.'_ Flynn thought in half amusement, half rue as she slumped in her chair. She turned towards the quietly panting Frey on the bed beside her. She frowned. He'd clearly worsened. His face had gone stark white and was currently shining with a faint sheen of sweat, and he was starting to struggle to breathe. Flynn turned back towards Farkas. She knew he'd be distraught to learn that the kid had passed away over the night. Flynn bit her lip. She'd lied to him earlier. She did know blood magic; since it was taboo, she just hadn't told anyone. Not even Kodlak knew, and he was the person she trusted the most (next to Skjor, then Eorlund, and _then_ Farkas). She eyed Farkas's steadily rising and falling chest, and then Frey's irregularly rising, stuttering chest. Not even a dragon would wake up Farkas at this point. Right now was as good as a time as ever. Casting a weak silencing charm around the door, Farkas's ears, and Frey's ears, she bit her thumb hard enough to draw blood. She clenched her teeth around the skin until the blood flowed freely, and she let it drip over Frey's face and chest.

He twitched in his sleep but did not wake. She healed her thumb quickly before she smeared the blood in a hasty sigil with feather-light touches. Once finished, she muttered the incantations low under her breath, watching as a faintly pink glow began to surround Frey. She finished the incantation and Frey's eyes flew open, his mouth fallen open in a silent gasp as the blood seared itself away. He rose off the bed by a few inches, but just as soon as he'd begun to levitate, he fell back down on the mattress. Frey looked very upset to have been woken up and looked around tearful confusion. His eyes fell on her, overflowing with unshed tears, and Flynn felt a huge wave of motherly sympathy wash over her with enough metaphorical force to bowl her over. Flynn swept forwards and grasped him in a tight hug, rubbing his back and stroking his hair as his body began to quake. She murmured gentle words into his ears to soothe him.

"Oh, you poor honey, I'm sorry. I know that must've been scary, waking up all suddenly like that. Shhh, shhh, it's alright. You're okay." She hushed him gently, pulling him into her lap. "Poor baby, you were sleeping so nicely, and you woke up, feeling all scared and disoriented. It's no wonder you're in tears. It's okay, you're not in trouble."

He rested his head on her shoulder, curling towards her warmth like a little babe. She stroked his hair until his shoulders stopped shaking and he relaxed against her. It only took a little more hair stroking to make him doze back off into an uneasy rest. She shifted, resting her back against the bed's headboard. Frey didn't shift, simply sighing and pressing his face into her breasts. She briefly wondered how so many people found them to be such great pillows; for Mara's sake, they were small and firm! Carlotta, Ysolda, Aela? That was where it was at. Eira was supreme comfort, though. Nothing beat Eira's tits.

…. Why was she thinking about this? Now was not the time to be thinking of soft, pillow-like boobies. Right now was the time to think about the small, traumatized child swaddled in her arms. More specifically, what the fuck to do with him. With the blood magic at work, he'd be back to one hundred percent in about eight or nine days, just in terms of healing. Factoring in the starvation and trauma, it'd be about two weeks before the little tyke was road-ready. So, that allotted two weeks of figuring out what to do. Just from looking at the kid, she could tell he was either from an abusive home or homeless. Not only was he small for his age as it was, but any parent who gave a damn about their kid would've been raising Oblivion if their kid had gone missing. Even Lemkir, as much as a cock as he was, probably would've been slightly concerned. That was saying a lot if you knew the guy.

She hadn't told Farkas, but the kid showed her when he'd been kidnapped. It had been sometime in the middle of Sun's Dawn—It was well into First Seed now. Nearly a whole month, and she hadn't heard anything about him from anyone. Unless he was from Windhelm, the only place she wasn't Thane of, surely someone would've informed her by now. Flynn stroked the boy's cheek softly, vaguely feeling like she was going to cry when he leaned to her touch. _'He's so broken, so easy to mold. You could manipulate him so easily…'_ her dragon cooed in her head. _'Shut the fuck up, Paul. I'm not a dragon, I'm not bent on enslaving mortals, you moron. Y'know, just because you said that, I'm going to protect the boy with my dying breath.'_

Paul, the dragon in her head, snickered. _'Do you realize what you've just promised?'_

Dammit. She'd played right into her own dragon's hands.

' _Sucker.'_

' _Fuck off, Paul.'_

Well, since Paul the dragon had decided it for her, she knew she was going to keep the kid close to her. But, she knew she couldn't care for him. She was everywhere at once; she hardly had the time to stay by his side as he would recover, much less raise him as her own. Besides, who in their right mind would let her adopt a child? She was crazy, for Mara's sake! What person in their right mind had the overwhelming urge to shove their head in the Skyforge or fling themselves off of Dragonsreach's great balcony? Either way, a kid needed a stable parent. Someone who was sensitive, conscious of other people's feelings, stern but nice, always around, supportive, a role model. And that someone needed to be strong, a good person, generally morally correct, capable of protecting others, family oriented. A parent needed to be…

…Someone like Farkas.

Now _that_ was an idea.

She knew Farkas already felt terrible for the kid. If Frey had nowhere to go and she wanted to keep him near her, who was a better candidate than Farkas? Well, she could always sic Frey on her friends in Riverwood, but Farkas was already right here. And, she knew he had a soft spot for kids. Yes, she could work with this.

Flynn sighed loudly. "Far Shores take me, I'm such a manipulative bitch." She murmured under her breath.

But, it was for a good cause. For the greater good. It was finally time to put her moral alignment to good use.

Okay. It was Sundas. She had at least 14 days to work with. It was time to plan. She had to make herself as scarce as possible and keep Farkas by the kid as much as she could. Doing so would inevitably make Farkas grow attached. During the night, Flynn generated ideas on how to get Farkas and the kid to bond. Once she had a good plan set in stone, she was left pondered how she was supposed to keep herself away from Farkas and Frey while making it not look suspicious at the same time.

A courier arriving the following morning with a letter from Elisif the Fair was the answer she needed.


End file.
